Whitehorse properties are selling with a median profit of $480,000

HOMESELLERS in Whitehorse are in Melbourne’s fourth most profitable municipality to sell a home.

The latest CoreLogic Pain & Gain report has revealed that with the median profitable sale in the area returning a $480,000 gain, it was only surpassed by the neighbouring regions of Manningham and Boroondara, as well as the waterside enclave of Bayside.

Each of the top three municipalities recorded a median profit above $500,000.

And the Pain and Gain report showed that a wide majority of Whitehorse homesellers would have sold for a profit, with 96 per cent cashing in on the more than $254 million total profit recorded across the municipality in the three months to the end of September.

Profitable sales were determined as those where a home sold for a higher price than its previous sale price, and were recorded with a median hold period of 11.3 years, according to CoreLogic.

Woodards Blackburn director Julian Badenach said that with the area having had a median house price increase of 200 per cent in the past 11 years, it wasn’t surprising to see it among Melbourne’s most profitable municipalities.

“I’m not surprised, the leafy eastern suburbs of Melbourne are one of the most desirable areas to live in,” Mr Badenach said.

He added that population was generally a key driver for property profits, and beyond the region being extremely attractive to local buyers, it had also received significant attention from internationals.

“A portion of the Asian community have chosen the City of Whitehorse as a destination for migration, so it’s possible our growth has been skewed or spiked up,” Mr Badenach said.

But not all homesellers made a profit. The CoreLogic report revealed 4 per cent of those who sold in the three months ending in September, 2016, did so for a median loss of $56,250.

Mr Badenach said that with a number of new apartment developments across the municipality, those seeking to sell a recently purchased new apartment would have been at risk of a negative return.

He noted that with more new apartments being built, those looking for a newer apartment could buy one with a stamp duty saving and potentially access to a government grant, while those seeking to sell an apartment completed in the past few years might find it hard to sell without reducing their expectations.

“There’s an over supply, so buyers tend not to buy established apartments like this,” Mr Badenach said.

Separate figures from CoreLogic show the median house price of the municipalities of Manningham and Whitehorse was $1.082 million at the end of October, 2016.

In the Whitehorse area, a three-bedroom brick house at 2 North Court, Forest Hill, was sold for just under the median for the region at $1.075 million December.

The 650sq m property came with a convenient location and a single-level floorplan.

It last transacted for $150,000 in 1993, according to CoreLogic records, marking a substantive profit for the homeseller.

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